The One with The Notebook
by unfamiliarroute
Summary: Another Friends inspired fic: A viewing of The Notebook causes some previously buried questions and feelings to come to surface. Includes Red Beauty and Sleeping Warrior.


**A/N: And I'm back again with another OUAT fic. Thanks to all those wonderful people who gave me feedback on my last story. If you read The One with the Double Blind Date, this is another Friends inspired fic. As always, none of these characters belong to me and I hope you enjoy.**

Mulan and Aurora had adjusted fairly well to the new environment in Storybrooke. After being reunited with Emma and Snow, Mulan had been hired as the new deputy and Aurora turned out to have a soft spot for animals and started working at the shelter with David. In addition, their new relationship was off to a great start. Phillip and Aurora had decided to remain friends and so far, the couple had been able to smooth any minor bumps in the road. There had been that one instance when Aurora had first met Belle but she had insisted that she had not been _jealous_ but _concerned_. Besides, she had soon figured out that she had nothing to worry about after Belle admitted to have been harboring a secret crush on Ruby, the kind waitress who worked at the diner, for a long number of months who unbeknownst to her was pining right back at her. Aurora wished they would stop being so blind and just get together already but then again, look at how long it took for her and Mulan to start dating.

Since then, Aurora had apologized profusely to Belle and they had become rather close friends much to Mulan's delight. In fact, the three of them along with Ruby hung out quite regularly with the waitress becoming a teacher of sorts as she tried to help the three of them become more comfortable with the modern world. She took particular pleasure in introducing them to television shows and movies she was particularly fond of and was mortified to discover one day that none of them had seen The Notebook. "But it's a classic!"

"Ruby," Belle had chided affectionately. "You seem to be forgetting that the three of us haven't exactly had ample opportunities to indulge in movie-watching."

Ruby's face had fallen but she quickly recovered, declaring that they needed to rectify the problem immediately and schedule a girls' night in. Mulan, to her relief, had been able to excuse herself from the event due to a late night working at the station with Emma. So now the women sans Mulan were huddled together on the sofa, a half-empty bottle of wine and a platter of cheese on the table in front of them. When the fight scene between Noah and Allie came on, Belle cocked her head and commented, "I wonder why Noah would still continue to pursue Allie when she isn't willing to fight for him. I think if you really love someone, you should never give up on them."

"But that's exactly it, isn't it?" Ruby responded, her voice suddenly sullen. "Noah loves Allie so much that he isn't going to give up on her even if she's not ready to do the same thing for him quite yet or possibly ever. He's going to continue to be there for her even if she chooses someone else. Even if it breaks his heart."

The room grew still and the previously fun amiable attitude vanished, transforming into an awkward and tense silence. It was evident Ruby was no longer talking about the movie and Aurora could see Belle frowning, trying to decipher the meaning behind Ruby's speech. The trio continued watching, their eyes glued to the screen to avoid looking at each other and Aurora rolled her eyes silently. _These two have really got to just get together already_, she thought. Suddenly, an idea struck her and she smiled to herself mischievously. "I have a question for the two of you. Clearly, Belle wouldn't choose to date Allie. So out of the three of us, who would you two want to date?"

Belle sat up, shaking her head with a smile despite already knowing the answer. "No, I couldn't possibly choose," she laughed, reaching for her glass of wine.

At the same time, Ruby said without thinking, "Belle."

The librarian halted. "What?"

Ruby froze, the blood draining from her face, and Aurora had to bite down on her lip to keep her grin from becoming too wide. She mentally patted herself on the back as Ruby began to stammer uncontrollably.

"Would you really choose me?" Belle asked, blushing, her voice growing softer. "Why?"

Aurora could see Ruby panicking and racking her brain. Quickly, she blurted out, "Aurora's too high maintenance."

The woman in question recoiled instantly. "What? I am not high maintenance!" she huffed indignantly.

"Sorry, but it's true." Ruby shrugged, trying not to look at Belle who was staring into her wine glass disappointedly. Aurora began to protest further when the front door opened and Mulan walked in, her tired demeanor instantly lighting up at the sight of her girlfriend. The princess rushed over to her and began to explain the situation.

"Ruby seems to think that I am high maintenance," Aurora said, her voice going an octave higher. "But it's absolutely false. Mulan, tell them!"

She turned to her warrior and watched as she hesitated and tried to find the proper words.

"Mulan?"

The woman cringed. "Aurora, does it really matter?"

"Yes, it does. Tell them about all those nights we spent in the Enchanted Forest."

Ruby snickered and Belle covered her mouth with her hand to stifle her laughter. Aurora's forehead pinched in confusion for a moment before she realized how her words had sounded and rolled her eyes at their immaturity. "Oh, you know what I mean. Tell them about how well I did," she corrected herself.

"It's true. Aurora did fare well in the forest."

Ruby smirked. "And I suppose she didn't complain at all?"

Mulan glared at her before heaving a deep sigh. "You are a little high maintenance," she conceded finally.

"I can't believe this," Aurora cried dramatically, turning away and covering her face.

Mulan walked around her and gently pulled her hands away. "Aurora, it's not a bad thing. You're passionate and that is one of my favorite things about you. And when you become upset over the little details, I like to think that I've grown pretty good at making you happy again. So they can say that you're high maintenance but that's okay because well," she bowed her head a bit, hiding her bashful smile, "I enjoy…maintaining you."

As she finished talking, Aurora looked at her with such wonder and appreciation that it caused a faint blush to rise to her face. Aurora leaned forward slowly, locking eyes with her, and kissed her softly on the lips. It turned heated soon after and Ruby cleared her throat and stood, gathering her leather jacket. "Well, I'm gonna take off and leave you guys to it," she said to the couple who were too wrapped up in each other to notice.

She started to leave but Belle's hand on the crook of her arm stopped her. "Wait, I'm coming with you."

Ruby waited patiently for the other woman to put on her coat, her fingers clenching into fists to avoid reaching out to help when her arm got caught in her sleeve. She placed a gentle hand on the small of Belle's back as she guided her around the furniture and to the front door, missing the sharp intake of breath at the contact.

As soon as the two were outside, Ruby let out a deep sigh of relief, glad to be away from the kissing couple. She was happy for them; truly, she was, but it was just another painful reminder of what she couldn't have with Belle. "Everything alright?" Belle asked, wondering worriedly why the usually peppy and friendly waitress was so quiet.

"Huh?" she responded distractedly. "Oh, yeah. Everything's fine."

She studied the woman's expression for a moment but decided not to push the subject. The two walked wordlessly down the street before Belle decided to break the silence. "I was lying, you know."

Ruby glanced at her. "About what?"

"In there. With Aurora. I said that I couldn't possibly choose who I would want to date between the two of you. I was lying."

They had stopped in the middle of the street and were turned towards one another. Ruby swallowed hard, drawing Belle's eyes to the visible muscles in her throat that worked nervously. She kicked a pebble on the ground and it scattered all the way down the street, her anxiety causing her abnormal strength to reveal itself. The librarian giggled, finding her completely endearing. "So, uh, who would you pick?" Ruby asked quietly.

Belle smiled at her, stepping closer and wrapping her arms around her neck, and her heart threatened to beat out of its chest. "I have a hunch," she whispered. "I just want to see if it's right."

"Okay," she responded hoarsely. Honestly, at this point, Belle could have asked her to climb Mount Rushmore and Ruby would have agreed. Belle bit her lip, looking up at her through her lashes and enjoying the sight of Ruby's eyes taking on a golden hue as her wolf clawed at her, begging to be let out.

"Um, are you ready?" she said adorably.

Ruby nodded frantically, her hair falling over her eyes. Belle chuckled, tucking the strand behind her ear before gently kissing her. Their lips moved together languidly, their bodies melting into each another as they relaxed into the kiss and only stopping when it began to rain. Fat droplets of water begin to fall in earnest now, soaking them thoroughly. Belle began to laugh and she shouted over the noise of the heavy rainfall, "I wrote you 365 letters. I wrote you every day for a year."

Ruby grinned and played along. "Y- you wrote me?" she asked, feigning shock.

Belle nodded, tightening her grip around the other woman's neck and playing with the wet hairs at the base of her head. "Yes...it wasn't over, it still isn't over."

With that, she reached back onto the tips of her toes and fiercely kissed her again, moving her hands to caress high cheekbones with her thumbs. Pulling back, she said, "I'll never stop fighting for you, Ruby."

Ruby's eyes reverted back to their normal brilliant green and they grew softer as she whispered back. "I'll never stop fighting for you either."

**A/N: Sorry for the slightly cheesy ending. This was kind of a challenging one since I have a lot of other stuff on my plate right now but I really wanted to write another fic for you guys since you've all been so nice and supportive. Anyway, let me know if you liked this fic and you're welcome to leave me prompts as well.**


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